Agri Vehicles Insurance from Greenlands

Author Topic: Electric fencing.... Any good  (Read 13573 times)

Gazjackson

  • Joined Dec 2010
Electric fencing.... Any good
« on: December 30, 2010, 09:37:52 am »
Hi all
I am wanting to some chickens but there is a fox always round.
Is the electric fencing any good to keep fox out.
It will be in paddock with cows.

plumseverywhere

  • Joined Apr 2013
  • Worcestershire
    • Its Baaath Time
    • Facebook
Re: Electric fencing.... Any good
« Reply #1 on: December 30, 2010, 09:54:57 am »
we have electric fencing but its only as good as the battery/mains powering it and you will need to make sure that grass /debris is kept off/short so that it doesn't short the supply. there are other things you need to do as the fox will just dig under etc.

the electric fence has protected our hens so long as they stay IN it. chicken tikka went for a walk a few days before xmas and never came back, next day foxy was stood next the the electric fence eyeing up his next meal and I caught him there.  Yesterday I had 8 hens stood on the fencing pannels where they had got out and 1 had come right down to our back door so not only do they disregard the electric fence, they blow raspberries at the cockerel too it seems  ::)
Smallholding in Worcestershire, making goats milk soap for www.itsbaaathtime.com and mum to 4 girls,  goats, sheep, chickens, dog, cat and garden snails...

groovy alpaca

  • Joined Dec 2010
Re: Electric fencing.... Any good
« Reply #2 on: December 30, 2010, 10:35:42 am »
we have used electric fencing with no fox losses (yet - touch wood!) for about 3 years. The only losses we have suffered are human related - make sure your battery and transformer are out of the way as they are hot property for thieves >:( We haven't had many problems with chickens getting over unless they have been completely spooked or we have put the feeders too close to the fence, so they just hop up and over!

groovy alpaca

  • Joined Dec 2010
Re: Electric fencing.... Any good
« Reply #3 on: December 30, 2010, 10:39:25 am »
or you could shoot the fox ;)

gmabbs

  • Joined Dec 2010
Re: Electric fencing.... Any good
« Reply #4 on: December 31, 2010, 05:30:23 pm »
I use electric poultry netting which is fairly foxproof. Once they try once they will definetly think about trying the next time. They usually come in 50m rolls like this:

http://www.agri-supply.co.uk/products/Poultry-Netting-105cm-50m.html

You also would need a decent energiser to power it, a bit of an outlay at first but will protect them in the long run!

robert waddell

  • Guest
Re: Electric fencing.... Any good
« Reply #5 on: December 31, 2010, 05:35:45 pm »
you should concider it powered of the mains7000/ 8000 volts we have two had them for15/20 years well worth it you never know Freddie might just get caught 20 minutes and they are dead

dyedinthewool

  • Joined Jul 2010
  • Orpingtons and assorted Sheep
Re: Electric fencing.... Any good
« Reply #6 on: December 31, 2010, 07:00:06 pm »
Hi Gaz,
You don't say if you are making a pen with coop inside ???
We have  35' x 35' pens made with 7'  posts to which we attached 5' pheasant netting (50p a metre) at the bottom on the outside we have 3' chicken netting and two electric wires @ 9" and 18" apart going over the entrance gates  - you can get handle attachments that link across gate (we have two of these pens side by side) Our coops are 'sheds' that are securely locked  - including the pophole/nestbox.  Fox tracks/poo seen around the outside - and in the paddocks (they free range when we are about otherwise they are kept in their electrified pen) So far no attempt by Foxy to get in - looked for tracks when the snow was down but none in pens. We've had the pens for just over a year.
You are never to old to learn something new

unwin.flh

  • Joined Dec 2010
Re: Electric fencing.... Any good
« Reply #7 on: January 02, 2011, 01:21:35 pm »
electric fencing is fantastic, we hav had no fox get in ever since the first day we put up out electric fence around 5 years ago. its main powered and usually if the fox hits it he does not often risk coming back. we have a 60 meter netting fence and then just as an extra precaution we have a single strand of white electric wire 1 foot out and 1 foot high from the electric fence and its brilliant. never need to worry about shutting them in.



darkbrowneggs

  • Joined Aug 2010
    • The World is My Lobster
Re: Electric fencing.... Any good
« Reply #8 on: January 02, 2011, 02:12:06 pm »
What did you all do about your electric fencing in the snow?

Sue
To follow my travel journal see http://www.theworldismylobster.org.uk

For lots of info about Marans and how to breed and look after them see www.darkbrowneggs.info

robert waddell

  • Guest
Re: Electric fencing.... Any good
« Reply #9 on: January 02, 2011, 03:27:29 pm »
ah now thats another story   it earths out gets flattened and does not work  poultry gets eaten by foxes  pigs get mixed up and enjoy themselfs  and we get stressed

plumseverywhere

  • Joined Apr 2013
  • Worcestershire
    • Its Baaath Time
    • Facebook
Re: Electric fencing.... Any good
« Reply #10 on: January 02, 2011, 04:26:15 pm »
same as Lillian really, the chooks fencing did earth out and the goats strip fencing reduced the amount of 'kick' it gave out (I found this as I rubbed my back climbing under it, the height of the snow beneath foot lifted my quite high) normally the goat fence makes me cry when I get a shock (no, really!!) this was more of a tickle!

I suppose we should have dug all round to keep it clear and stop the earthing? was a bit ruddy deep for that though  ;)
Smallholding in Worcestershire, making goats milk soap for www.itsbaaathtime.com and mum to 4 girls,  goats, sheep, chickens, dog, cat and garden snails...

robert waddell

  • Guest
Re: Electric fencing.... Any good
« Reply #11 on: January 02, 2011, 04:35:40 pm »
was it a good tickle thats what they use for tonning up the tummie muscles bugger that somebody turns up the currant and you go break dancing down the field

plumseverywhere

  • Joined Apr 2013
  • Worcestershire
    • Its Baaath Time
    • Facebook
Re: Electric fencing.... Any good
« Reply #12 on: January 02, 2011, 05:37:26 pm »
Agh Lillian you've just brought back terrible memories of my hubby's 'tummy toner' - idea being you don't need a gym, you can firm up while you sit and watch eastenders. only thing was I always stuck those pads on my tummy stretch marks - OUCH!!!  :o

no, this was far more pleasant  ;D
Smallholding in Worcestershire, making goats milk soap for www.itsbaaathtime.com and mum to 4 girls,  goats, sheep, chickens, dog, cat and garden snails...

waterhouse

  • Guest
Re: Electric fencing.... Any good
« Reply #13 on: January 02, 2011, 06:03:43 pm »
We gave up on netting because the grass always grew into it and it kept earthing out so we chicken-wired the orchard and put two tapes of electric at different heights on the outside so the fox couldn't jump onto it.  You can put a ground wire at fox take-off point but we keep horses in the surrounding fields so the tapes do two jobs.

I'd echo Lillian on voltage.  I've now got a meaty mains energiser which is running some kilometers of horse tape and generally produces 8-9000V with a high energy pulse that burns off vegetation that's going to short it out. 

Get a voltmeter as well.  It's easy to find the voltage is just a couple of thousand volts which thick fur won't notice.  Our sheep respect the fence so it definitely won't make Reynard happy

darkbrowneggs

  • Joined Aug 2010
    • The World is My Lobster
Re: Electric fencing.... Any good
« Reply #14 on: January 02, 2011, 06:25:33 pm »
We gave up on netting because the grass always grew into it and it kept earthing out so we chicken-wired the orchard and put two tapes of electric at different heights on the outside so the fox couldn't jump onto it.  You can put a ground wire at fox take-off point but we keep horses in the surrounding fields so the tapes do two jobs.

I'd echo Lillian on voltage.  I've now got a meaty mains energiser which is running some kilometers of horse tape and generally produces 8-9000V with a high energy pulse that burns off vegetation that's going to short it out. 

Get a voltmeter as well.  It's easy to find the voltage is just a couple of thousand volts which thick fur won't notice.  Our sheep respect the fence so it definitely won't make Reynard happy

Hi there - what heights are the tapes, and are they directly under one another.  Also what energizer have you got - I like the idea that it will burn off the vegetation.  I already have a mains Electric Shepherd, but perhaps with the netting it is not so effective.  I must admit I have never been certain it is all correctly connected, but it has kept the hens safe as long as it has been sprayed or strimmed round.

All the best
Sue
To follow my travel journal see http://www.theworldismylobster.org.uk

For lots of info about Marans and how to breed and look after them see www.darkbrowneggs.info

 

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